Chapter 63 (1/2)

We went from eating yogurt to screaming at each other and now we are calm again. My head is spinning at least as much as my heart.

“Hurt me?” He sounds incredulous.

“Yeah, if it will bother you that much to be there, I won’t try to make you come,” I answer. I know that I could never make Hardin do anything he doesn’t want to do; he has no history of ever being cooperative.

“Why would you care if it hurt me?” His eyes meet mine and I try to look away, but once again I am under his spell.

“Of course I would care; why wouldn’t I?”

“Why would you is the question.”

The look in his eyes is a pleading one, like he wants me to say the words, but I can’t. He will use them against me and then probably never want to hang out with me again. I will become the annoying girl who likes him, the kind of girls Steph told me about.

“I care about how you feel,” I say and I hope this answer can be good enough for him.

Interrupting our moment in the car, my phone rings. I pull it out of my purse and see it’s Noah. Without thinking, I hit ignore before I realize what I’m doing.

“Who is it?” Hardin is so nosy.

“Noah.”

“You’re not going to answer?” He looks surprised.

“No, we’re talking.” And I would rather talk to you, my subconscious adds.

“Oh” is all he says, but his smile is evident.

“So are you going to come with me? It’s been a while since I’ve had a home-cooked meal, so I am not passing it up.” I smile; the mood in the car is lighter but tense all the same.

“No. I have plans, anyway,” he mutters. I don’t want to know if those plans involve Molly.

“Oh, okay. Are you going to be mad at me if I go?” It’s sort of strange for me to just go to Hardin’s father’s house, but Landon is my friend, too, and I was invited.

“I’m always mad at you, Tess,” he says, amusement in his eyes when he looks over at me.

I laugh. “I’m always mad at you, too,” I tell him and he chuckles.

“Can we go back now? If a cop comes along, we’ll get a ticket.”

He nods, putting the car into drive and pulling back onto the road. The fight with Hardin blew over more quickly than I expected. I suppose he’s much more used to constant conflict than I am; I would much rather spend time with him without fighting.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t ask but I have to know . . . “So, what are your . . . um . . . plans today?”